Children's Museum open delayed while parts for elevator, exhibit remain on hold

JANESVILLE — The highly anticipated opening of the WonderVault children’s museum in downtown Janesville will be delayed one month, Executive Director Kent Anderson said. Anderson said earlier this year that the opening was slated in November. However, the museum continues to wait for a needed elevator part, and installation of an exhibit is also being delayed. The WonderVault is now set to open sometime in December. Anderson said the museum hopes to have a grand opening date soon. The museum is no stranger to waiting. Its journey began in 2008 but, opening the 100 W. Milwaukee St. site stalled during the Great Recession. Community efforts regained momentum in the 2010s through a traveling “Museum on Wheels” program before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress once again. In 2022, organizers launched a capital campaign that ultimately raised about $14.5 million to construct the permanent museum. Rather than replicating exhibits found in larger children’s museums across the country, designers built the museum around experiences familiar to children growing up in Rock County. Designers from Memphis, Tenn., visited local farms, conducted community focus groups and developed exhibits centered on three themes: the Rock River, innovative manufacturing and precision agriculture. Those themes appear throughout the